Decisions
by markaleen
Summary: Margaret asks Harry to do something that may be the worst thing that was ever asked of him by anyone. What will happen? What will he do? Set in season 8.
1. Big Favors

**I do NOT own any of the characters or media from Night Court. All rights go to Starry Night Productions, NBC, and anybody else associated with it. I am not making money off of these stories.**

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Harry was dating a beautiful reporter named Margaret Turner. She had short auburn hair, she was smart, sophisticated, enthusiastic, dedicated, and she had beautiful eyes. She seemed to be perfect in every way. Her and Harry got along great. They had been dating for a few months now and things seemed to be going great. Margaret and him had decided that Harry was going to move into her place. They were both excited about it. Harry couldn't stop telling his friends. He mentioned it every chance that he got. Everyone was happy for them of course, well… except for Dan. Dan couldn't believe that Harry was one step closer to being with the same woman for the rest of his life. He was doing everything that he could to talk Harry out of it. Things were going good between Harry and Margaret, but Harry admitted to himself that their relationship wasn't completely what it was like at the beginning. Margaret seemed to be becoming more controlling, telling Harry what he could and couldn't bring with him when he moved. Some things were understandable though. Other than that and a few other little things, everything couldn't be better. No one had ever made him feel so happy. He even replaced his picture of Mel Torme and put a picture of Margaret in it's place. At this point in Harry's life, everything seemed to be perfect. He had a great job as a judge, he had great friends, he had his health, and he had Margaret. He was very thankful for his friends. They had supported him from the very beginning. Even though Dan was singing a different tune now, he, in his own way, helped Harry get the nerve to ask Margaret out in the first place. The way that he asked her out for the first time was actually her walking in the room when Harry and Dan were rehearsing what Harry was going to say. Although, after the first date, Harry regretted not following Christine's advice. She had told him to stop trying to be like Dan and be himself. He agreed with her but the minute Margaret walked into the room he was back acting like Dan. When the date failed, he knew that Christine was right. He should have known all along anyway, Christine was the one who gave him the best advice. She was also a great listener. Whenever he needed to talk, she was there. And he was there for her. They had a great friendship, and he valued it very much. Christine was even helpful second before he saw Margaret for the first time. He was feeling a bit down about his love life and Christine reassured him that he was very attractive, she sang a Mel Torme line, and told him that the right woman would be right around the corner. Indeed she was right.

It was the night Harry moved in with Margaret. They were lying in bed talking about how happy they were together. It seemed to be a typical conversation between them, but Margaret suddenly brought up something that Harry did not expect at all.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"I know this is sort of out of the blue, but now that we are officially living together… I feel that I must ask a rather… personal question."

"What might that be?" he asked curiously.

Margaret took a slight deep breath, "What's your past relationship with Christine?"

Harry was puzzled, "What?"

"Nothing, I just want to know if you two have any history. You know, a past relationship maybe?" she liked Christine, she didn't have anything against her. But she did notice that she and Harry had a certain chemistry.

He had no idea what had made her think something like this. She couldn't be suspecting that there was something going on between Christine and his self, could she? He felt that he could be honest with Margaret, there was no reason that she should be suspicious. He wanted to set her straight, "I don't know what brought this up or made you think this, but technically, no. We were never in a _relationship_, relationship. I admit, there was a time that we both had some feelings for each other but that was years ago. We've both moved on. She's got a son, and I've got you." He smiled and lightly kissed her forehead.

"So you're saying that there is absolutely nothing between you two?"

"Nothing at all."

Margaret was glad to hear that but she had to ensure that no old sparks would ever be ignited. "Then it wouldn't be to much to ask you to stay away from her as much as you possibly can?"

Harry couldn't believe his ears, did that really come out of _his _Margaret's mouth? This was very unlike her. She wasn't the jealous type. Or… maybe she was? Maybe he just didn't know about it. "Are you serious?"

"I am. Is that a problem? Because you did say that there was nothing at all between you and her."

He was very confused, "I know, not romantically, not anything like that, but we are good friends."

"I know, darling. I just want to make sure it stays that way."

"I don't get it. You've never had a problem with her before… why now?"

"Harry… I didn't have a problem with her before because she was married to Tony. But now that they're divorced, it just seems to odd to have you being good friends with her."

"Exactly, she was married to Tony! We were good friends then, and nothing happened, nothing changed. Well, besides the fact that she was married…"

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"That we were friends even when one of us was married." This wasn't making any sense at all.

"The difference was that she was married?"

"Oh that? I just meant that we couldn't do something after work." It suddenly occurred to him that he should elaborate on that and make sure she knows that he means as friends, not a date… exactly.

Unfortunately, she started to talk before he could continue, "So you did date her."

"No, no, no, it was just a few friendly events. That's it."

"So where exactly did you two go?"

"I don't remember everything. There was… um… a few concerts, a few plays, things like that."

Margaret raised an eyebrow.

"Of course we wouldn't go anywhere now. We haven't gone anywhere alone together since she first started dating Tony. I'm with you. You know I love you."

"I love you too. That's why I'm asking you to please stay away from her after, during breaks, and anytime you're not working."

"Margaret, I can't do that."

"You seem pretty determined not to stay away from her for someone who has absolutely no feelings for her."

Harry sighed. He did love Margaret, very much, so he knew he had to do whatever he needed to, to make sure he didn't loose her. "Alright… if it will make you happy…"

"Thank you so much sweetheart! I feel better already." She kissed him, then turned over to go to sleep.

Harry laid awake unable to sleep. He was dreading the day that tomorrow would bring. He was about to loose his best friend…


	2. The Confession

Monday at work, Harry kept trying to get up the nerve to talk to Christine, but instead of talking, he ended up avoided her. He was hoping that maybe she would catch on and not mention it. Well, she did catch on, but she was going to do something about it. She didn't know what was going on with Harry, but she was determined to find out. She was guessing that it was something with Margaret. The worst she expected was that they had a big fight. She had no idea what was coming her way. Harry called a recess and before he could go anywhere Christine stopped him.

"Harry, can we please talk?"

He stuttered a bit, "Well… um, I actually… have to…uh… go and… and… do some paper work." He quickly stood up in hopes to get away from her but it was no use.

"Harry, what has gotten into you? It feels like you're avoiding me or something."

He looked at his best friend sorrowfully, "That's because… I am."

She was stunned and very confused, she didn't know why. They hadn't had any big disagreements lately. "You are? Why?"

"Yeah… can we talk in my office?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing…" she said bravely even though she was terrified to hear why. It couldn't be good, that's all she knew.

They walked into Harry's office. Christine demanded an explanation, "Okay Harry, tell me, why are you suddenly avoiding me?"

He looked away, "Margaret has requested that we stop… being friends. She asked me to please stay away from you anytime we're not working."

_Stop being friends? Is she insane? Not only is it insane… it's silly, and it makes absolutely no sense. _"So… Margaret is behind this."

"Come on, you make it sound like she plotted this in some kind of master plan of hers."

Christine bit her tung, she knew making a comment wouldn't make thing any easier. "Why does she all of a sudden have a problem with me?"

Harry didn't want to answer, but if he knew Christine, which he did, she wouldn't leave until he told her everything she wanted to know. "Because… when Margaret and I first met… you were married to Tony."

"This is all because I'm divorced? She thinks I'm after you? She's nuts Harry. Nuts. Besides, since when does she control everything you do? Wait, I want to change that, _why _does she control everything you do? Why do you let her?"

Harry sighed, "Because, I love her very much."

_You loved me once. Wait, Christine, not really the issue right now… _"Well if you want my opinion, make that my last opinion, she doesn't love you very much to make you do something like this. Goodbye… Judge Stone. You won't have to see Christine Sullivan any longer. Have a nice life." She stormed out of the room without looking back. Harry continued to stare out of the door. It was like he was frozen. He couldn't believe any of the things that had just happened. Part of him was hoping and waiting for her to come back, but the other part of him knew that she was gone for good. He didn't know what to do. Should he have gone after her? Or did he make the right choice of letting her go? _I guess it doesn't matter now. She's gone. Maybe it's meant to be this way. _He put his robe back on and went to start up session again.

_Maybe she'll be there._

To his disappointment, she wasn't.

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Christine walked into a small office. There was a man sitting at a desk looking over some files. She walked up to the man at the desk.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes?"

"I'm here to request a transfer."


	3. The Guilt

Three weeks had gone by. Christine had transferred to the Brooklyn Court. The place wasn't the same without her. Harry was the only one who knew why she had transferred and he was hoping to keep it that way. Not a day went by that he didn't feel guilty. Margaret was sure happy though. She kept trying to convince Harry that he had done the right thing. At first, he convinced himself, but as time went on, he felt more and more guilty. He knew that he had made Christine's life more stressful. She was going through a time when she really needed her friends and he made that impossible.

Harry sat on the couch watching television with his now normal, sad face. Margaret walked in from the kitchen.

"Really Harry? You're still moping around? It's been three weeks. You need to get over it."

He turned off the television and looked at Margaret, "I am over it and I'm not moping around." He found himself lying to her a lot lately.

Margaret sat down next to Harry, "Sure seems like moping to me."

"I assure you, I am completely fine. I'm just a bit tired. It was a long day at work."

"Harry… you had a very light docket tonight. Remember? That's why you're home early."

"Oh… right. Well, they were tough cases."

She wasn't buying his act but she nodded anyway, "Okay then."

They sat for a few minutes until Margaret got a phone call.

"I'll be a little while."

"Alright…"

He sat for a few more minutes thinking. He couldn't take the guilt anymore. He had to go find Christine and make things right. He left Margaret a note saying that he had gone out for a bit. He grabbed his hat and headed to the Brooklyn Court.

_I really hope she's there…_


	4. What To Say

"_**If I could turn back time, if I could find a way, I would take back all the things that have hurt you, and you'd stay." **__If I Could Turn Back Time –Cher_

Harry walked up to a desk in the Brooklyn Court, hoping he would be able to find Christine. "Hi, I was wondering where I could find Christine Sullivan."

The man behind the desk replied, "My ask for your name?"

"I'm Judge Harold T. Stone."

"Can I see an I.D.?"

Harry quickly pulled out his wallet and showed his drivers license.

The man nodded, "Okay Judge Stone, you can find her in Judge Ellison's court, twelfth floor."

"Thank you very much."

Harry headed to the elevator. As he waited for it for it to arrive he nervously thought, _What the hell am I doing here? She's not_ _going to want to see me again, not after how thoughtless I was. What was I thinking? Margaret… that's what I was thinking. If Christine forgives me and comes back to work, how am I ever going to tell her? Wait, what __am__ I going to tell Christine? I will apologize of course, and I'll ask her to come back, but it still seems like I should say something else… but what?_

Now was his chance to find out. The elevator doors opened and out walked Christine. She didn't notice Harry right away, but when she did she stopped cold. All she could do was stare at him. She could not believe that he was here.

"Harry…" there was anger in her voice.

"Christine…"


	5. Apologies And Lies

"Harry, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to see you."

"Oh… now you're allowed to see me? Well gee, I'd love to talk to you now!" she angrily started walking away.

Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her into the elevator.

"Let go of me!"

"I will once the these doors shut." He pressed the button to close the door and held onto Christine's arm until the doors shut.

"Where are we going?"

"I have no idea. I just wanted to talk to you and make sure you didn't go anywhere." The elevator started moving.

"Well then, you better talk fast because the second these doors open I'm out."

Harry looked at her for a second and then he hit the emergency brake. "Now I don't have to worry about how long I take." He stood in front of the panel so she couldn't start it up again.

"Fine. What is so important that you have to say to me?"

"I'm sorry…"

Christine was waiting for him to say more. "That's it?"

"No, I want you to come back to work."

"In _your _court? Are you sure that Margaret approves of me being near you?"

Harry sighed, "Christine, I know you're angry. You have every right to be."

"Well, thank you for giving me that right."

"Would you please stop it? I am here apologizing to you and all your giving me is sarcasm!"

"What do you want me to do? Jump up and down because you came all the way here to apologize to me? Harry, you really hurt me. I need my friends more than ever right now. Especially my best friend, and what did you do? You told me that your beloved Margaret said she didn't want me speaking to you. Maybe I was a bit hasty by leaving like I did but it just seemed like the best thing to do, because I wasn't about to see you all the time and not be able to talk to you. Obviously, you don't know how much you mean to me. I guess I should say meant." She turned away and walked away to the other side of the elevator.

Harry felt incredibly bad now. Did he really mean that much to her? He walked up to Christine, "I am so sorry. I didn't think clearly. I was only thinking of myself and not about you, and I've come to realize that. That's why I'm here. I've made a huge mistake and I've hurt you. I have not been able to get rid of this guilt."

She was fighting back tears, she continued looking at the wall and not Harry, "So you're here to clear you conscious and get rid of your guilt?"

"No, listen to me, I am here because I miss you, I care about you, I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart, and I want you to come back and work in my court."

"I don't think so… I don't need anymore stress in my life, I don't need any drama with Margaret."

He thought fast, "You don't have to worry about that. I am no longer seeing her."

She turned around, "You're not?"

_The messes I get myself into! _"No…"

"How come?"

_Whatever I say is going to be the wrong thing… Think, think! I know, I'll let her answer it. _"You know why."

She took a second and then smiled. She didn't say anything, she gave Harry a quick hug.

_Good, that worked. I can only pray that she doesn't make me confirm it. _"Come on, let's get out of here. You have a little one waiting for you." _And I have a big one waiting for me…_


	6. Be Careful

Happy New Year everyone! My resolution for this year is to right more so hopefully chapters won't take me so long to update! (and will hopfully be longer) ;) ~markaleen

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Christine came back to Manhattan to work. Everybody was glad to have her back; she was glad to be back. To Harry's relief, she decided not to mention why she left. Harry didn't tell Margaret about Christine, and he didn't tell Christine about Margaret. He figured that he had a bit of time; Margaret didn't stop by court all that often and Christine never asked. Hopefully nobody would say anything. She had been back for a few weeks now. At first, it took her and Harry to get their relationship back to the way it had been before. It was finally starting to feel like old times.

After work, Christine knocked on the door to Harry's office.

"It's open." Harry shouted from his desk.

She walked in, "Hi."

"Hey there."

She handed Harry a couple of files, "Here are the files I lost, sorry about that."

Harry grinned, "No problem."

She nodded and started heading back to the door. As she put her hand on the doorknob she stopped and turned around. "Hey… I was just wondering if you might want to go grab a bite to eat?"

Harry stood up, "I'd love to, but I have a date with-" _Oops, that was to close for comfort. _He quickly corrected, "A girl."

Christine didn't know why but her heart sank a little. _Why do I feel so disappointed? Whatever… _"Okay, no problem. How about tomorrow night?"

"Sounds great." He nudged her gently.

"See you later." She smiled and left the room.

Harry laid down on the sofa. _You better start thinking before you speak before you get yourself into a big mess…_


	7. A Big Mess

(The next day)

Harry answered the ringing phone, "Hello?"

It was Margaret, "Hi honey, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright. How about yourself?"

"I'm doing great. There is a little get together at my boss' house tonight and I was hoping you would be able to get off work long enough to come."

"Sounds good, it doesn't seem like a very large docket tonight." He had completely forgot about his plans with Christine.

"Good, I'll come by your work and we will go from there."

"Alright, see you later." He hung up the phone just as Christine and Roz walked in. The minute Harry saw Christine he remembered everything. _Oh no…_

Christine smiled as she walked into the room, "Hello, Your Honor."

Roz stayed by the door, "We're ready to start when you are, sir."

"Thanks, Roz."

"Sir, are you feeling alright?" She noticed that he didn't look very well.

He stuttered a bit, "What? Um… yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You look very pale."

He wasn't really listening to her, he was busy thinking. _Okay, so you ended up getting yourself into a mess. Nice going. But this it's not a big deal… you'll think of some way to get out of this. Think carefully this time so you don't screw everything up. First, you need to decide who you're going to go with. I guess I have to go with Margaret. How am I going to tell Christine? I should probably get rid of Roz first. _"Hey Roz, could you give Miss Sullivan and I a few minutes?"

Roz nodded and left the room closing the door behind her.

Christine sat on the edge of Harry's desk. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Sort of… I actually have to ask you something."

"What's that? Is it about dinner?"

"Yeah… listen," she continued to sit on his desk listening. He looked in her eyes and just couldn't get himself to ask her to change the date. He knew that it was the guilt stopping him, not the actual question. _How can I not go to dinner with her tonight? I made plans with her first. Besides, I don't want to go to another one of Margaret's boss' parties. I have nothing in common with those people… well you have to say something now. _"how does pizza sound?"

Christine smiled, "Sounds great."

"Great." He stood up and started heading to the door along with Christine. They began session. The whole time Harry was feeling like there was something he had forgotten. He remembered when he saw Margaret walk through the courtroom doors. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten to call and cancel with her. Without thinking about the fact the Christine might not notice her, he yelled, "Margaret."

Christine looked up from a file she was looking over, turned around to look at Margaret, and then looked at Harry again. "Margaret?" she asked in a shocked tone. She wasn't sure if Margaret had come to get back together with Harry or if Harry had lied. She had the bad feeling that he had lied about breaking up with her. She could tell by how he was acting; he was looking pale like he had earlier and he was looking back and forth between her and Margaret. _Now it's all making sense… I can't believe that he would do this to me. I trusted him. Maybe he __was__ only trying to get rid of his guilt when he apologized. If he expects me to forgive him this time, he's going to have one hell of a time getting it. This really isn't like him. Margaret has changed him; he's lying, he's lost some of his wit, and he's just not the same person anymore. _She had noticed that ever since she had been back, Harry was acting, well, more mature than he used to. When she first started working in his court five years ago, he was completely unpredictable and fun. Now he just seemed… so plain. It didn't work with him. He was meant to be animated. _Okay, it's up to you to let him know about what Margaret's done to him… wait, why? He lied to me, I'd rather not be speaking to him at the moment… besides, Margaret is here. And she's now walking up to Harry… Oh please don't mention me._

In a somewhat hushed tone, Margaret questioned Harry, "What is this all about, Harry? You told me that you got rid of her!"

Harry looked around the room and noticed that all eyes were on him. He quickly stood up, "Recess." He banged his gavel, "Margaret, I'd like to speak with you in my office. You too, Miss Sullivan." He waited by the door.

Christine looked at Harry before moving, she was dreading what the near future had in store for her.

_Be strong…_

The three left the room leaving everybody else there puzzled.


	8. The Truth Is Out Almost

Again, sorry that it's taken me so long to update! I actually had this chapter written weeks ago but I was too lazy to type it ;) Enjoy!

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Margaret, Harry, and Christine walked into Harry's chambers. Christine nervously sat down on the sofa; Harry sat at his desk, and Margaret sat on the edge of the desk. There was an awkward silence until Margaret spoke. "So Harry, why did you lie to me?"

Christine stood up, "Yeah, I was wondering the same thing."

Margaret scowled, "What do you mean?"

Christine rolled her eyes, "You weren't the only one lied too. Harry told me that he broke up with you."

"Well he told me-"

"I know what he told you. Thank you for your thoughtfulness by the way."

Margaret rolled her eyes and turned to Harry, "So Harry, what do you have to say to me?"

"And me?" Christine added with frustration in her voice.

Margaret angrily turned to Christine, "We will deal with you later. I think Harry and I need to work out our problem now."

Christine stood up and walked over to Margaret with her arms crossed, "What is your problem with me anyway?"

"Do you want the truth?"

"I think I deserve it!"

"You are a threat in Harry and me's relationship." Margaret huffed.

Christine was confused, "What… how?"

Margaret rolled her eyes, "Really? I see the look in Harry's eyes when you come up in a conversation…"

As mad as Christine was, she really wanted to smile at that but she knew that would only lead to trouble. "Why is that my fault?"

"Look, I am not going to get much more into this conversation. You just need to let Harry and I talk." Margaret huffed.

Christine looked at Margaret for a moment, then looked at Harry, and then back at Margaret. "Fine— but first, I am going to say something to Harry."

Margaret crossed her arms, "Could you please just give us a few minutes?"

An extremely frustrated Christine let out a sigh, turned around and started to leave the room. Suddenly, she stopped. _No, you cannot just leave. _She turned back around and walked back over to Harry's desk. "No, I have something to say, and quite frankly Margaret, I don't care if you like it or not. But, Harry needs to hear what's on my mind." She didn't waste any time waiting for any kind of response. She started saying what she needed to say. "Harry, this woman is not good for you. She has changed you for the worse. You're not fun the way you used to be, you always seem exhausted, and you are just too predictable and that's coming from me." Once again she turned to leave but then stopped herself. "Wait, I take that last one back… I never would have guessed that you would lie to me. Obviously, I'm not one of Margaret's biggest fans but you shouldn't have lied to her either." The room was silent. Christine spoke up again, "Now, for the big question… What were you thinking, Harry?"

Harry remained silent as he had been the whole time. Margaret was silent as well. Christine repeated, "Well… tell us. What were you thinking?"

He looked back and forth between Christine and Margaret. He didn't know what to say or do. "Umm…" he stuttered, "I, uh… I don't know what to say…"

"Yes you do." Insisted Christine, "What were you thinking?"

Harry knew that there was no getting out of this. _I may as well just tell her, uh them, the truth. I just wish I knew what the truth was. _He stood up, he was about to say something like, 'It didn't seem so bad at the time,' but then he found himself looking into Christine's eyes and saying, "I wasn't thinking… at all. No, I was only thinking of myself. I didn't take a second to think about what I was doing to you. I know this sounds like what I said before, but I mean it. You have every right not to trust me right now but I really need you to know that I am telling you the truth. The minute you walked out that door when all of this started I realized how much you really mean to me. I did the best I could to deny it but after awhile I just couldn't anymore. That's when I asked you to come back. I know lying to you was another stupid thing to do but I was so confused. Christine… Margaret, You two are the most important woman— not just woman, people—in my life, I love you both. Now Margaret, when you asked me, well seemed more like demanded, me to tell Christine that I couldn't be around her anymore, you didn't only hurt her, but you hurt me."

Margaret stopped him before he could say anything else, "Harry, just get to the point. Which one of us are you _in _love with?"

He didn't have to think. He knew…


	9. A Shocking Discovery

Margaret repeated herself, "Harry, which one of us are-"

He cut Margaret off, "You don't have to say it again. First, let me say that Margaret, what you did was unfair to everyone, even you, same with what I did. We were both wrong. But you obviously I'm not going to be with someone who won't let me be with my best friend. So if I have to say I'm in love with anyone… its Christine. Our relationship, even as friends, has been better than the relationship I thought I had with you. Unfortunately, all I gained from that was deceitfulness, yes it had good parts but I can't take the sneakiness anymore. It's over. I'm sorry. I'm especially sorry to you Christine. Please forgive me…"

Christine was fighting off tears of joy while Margaret was fighting back tears of anger and hurt. She was as successful as Christine. Margaret yelled, "I want your junk out of my apartment tonight!" then she stormed out of the room without turning back. Harry looked at Christine, hoping she'd be the first to say something. Christine didn't know what to think. It seemed like a million this had all happed within a few minutes. She was thrilled that Margaret was gone, and thrilled that Harry had said that he was in love with her. _Did he just say that to get rid of Margaret? Or was he saying that because he had to choose? Or did he mean it? _She was also still mad at him for all the hurt he had caused. She was still recovering from Tony; she didn't need another man hurting her. Finally she couldn't hold back her tears any longer as all the emotions came. She quickly left the room.

_Should I follow her? _Harry thought. _I don't want to make things worse. I also don't want her to think that I don't care either… I have to go after her. _He ran out into the hallway and tried to figure which way she had gone. _Maybe she went back to court. _He highly doubted that she did but he poked his head in the courtroom just to make sure. She wasn't there. He went back into the hallways and started roaming around the eighteenth floor trying to find her. With no luck he headed into the parking lot. _Maybe she left? I sure hope not!_ Once he reached the parking lot sure enough there was Christine about to get into her car. He called out for her, "Christine! Wait!"

She didn't want to notice him but she did. As Harry ran to her car she stood there still waiting. She had no idea what to say to him.

"Christine, are you okay?"

Slowly she turned to him, "I guess," she said meekly.

"I'm so sorry for all that has happened. I never meant to put you through all of this."

"I know it wasn't your intent but it still hurt, a lot."

"I know it did. I think I'll regret for the rest of my life."

Christine couldn't help but giggle, "Has anyone ever told you that you're pretty dramatic?"

Harry laughed, "No, but I guess I am."

Christine's face turned serious, "Now, tell me the truth, what did you mean in there?"

"Huh?"

"You said that if you had to choose one of us, you were _in _love with me. I just want to be clear… Where you just saying it because you _had _to choose, or-"

"Or… did I actually mean it?" he interrupted.

Christine nervously nodded.

"I think I did. No, I **do **mean it. I love you Christine, more than a friend. I felt a loss when you weren't here. I know this has been said over and over again but I truly realized how much you meant, no, mean, to me. The truth is, I was trying to break up with Margaret, but I was afraid. I was afraid of how she would react and I was afraid that you wouldn't feel the same way I did. Actually, I still don't know how you feel."

Christine took a deep breath. "I… I don't know what to say…"

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" He hoped it was a good thing.

"I don't know…"

"I don't mean to make things difficult, and you don't need to say anything, I just wanted you to know how I felt."

Christine looked down attempting to hide the tears that began to fall from her eyes. She couldn't fool Harry though. Harry knew she needed some time so kissed her cheek, smiled, and headed back to the court. Christine watched him slowly walk back, unable to get herself to move.


	10. A New Beginning

Last chapter! Thanks to all my readers! Especially SamandDianefan10, AdventureGirl6, and ChavaAyanna :) Thanks for all the support guys!

Enjoy! ~markaleen

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Christine couldn't go back. Not now anyway. She was so confused. She had gone from being hurt, to being mad, to being shocked, she didn't know what to make of all of this. She decided to take a walk. Probably wasn't the smartest move but she didn't really care at that moment. She roamed the streets trying to think of how she felt. She loved Harry as a friend. She has for awhile. But the whole Margaret thing really tested her trust. She knew that nothing like this had happened before but this was pretty bad. How could she know if what he just said in the parking lot wasn't just a repeat of last time? True, she did see him break up with Margaret. But that could change when he gets his things from her apartment. She kept going over everything in her mind. She had completely lost track of time. She heard someone running up behind her. She moved aside hoping whoever it was wanted nothing to do with her. That is, until she heard Harry's voice call her name.

"Christine!"

She slowly turned around and wiped her eyes. "Harry… what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you!" he finally caught up to her. "You've been gone for nearly two hours and I know you weren't driving."

"I just decided to take a little walk."

"A little walk?"

"Okay fine, a big walk. I just needed to think things through."

He sighed, "That part's fine but what possessed you to walk around New York City alone at night?"

"I don't know. It was just there so I walked."

"What?"

"Never mind. How did you find me anyway?"

"I'm still asking myself that question. Geez, it's freezing out here! Aren't you cold?"

She shrugged not sure where this conversation was headed, "I don't know, I guess. I'm fine."

There was an awkward silence.

Harry spoke up, "Why don't we start heading back, it's a long walk and I'm sure you'll be in debt after paying your babysitter overtime." He chuckled at his joke with hope he'd see a smile from Christine.

"No, Little Charlie's with Tony tonight."

Harry nodded.

"I'll be fine walking back. You probably want to get your things from Margaret's don't you?"

"That can wait; I don't want you to be out here alone."

She managed a half smile.

They walked in silence for awhile. They were almost back to the court, things were looking familiar. But Christine was mostly looking at Harry. _He must care about me if he went all this way to find me… I guess he has always cared… _She stopped and gently pulled Harry's hand.

Harry turned around, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Christine smiled, "Nothing." She slowly pulled herself closer to Harry. "It's just that I've been thinking about what you said…"

Harry smiled as he pulled Christine even closer, "Yes?"

She whispered as she was about to kiss him, "I love you too."

Finally, after all they had been through over the past years, they kissed. Not just a simple little kiss, but a real kiss. They stayed that way for awhile. Then they heard a familiar voice.

"Harry, Christine?"

Margaret.

Christine started to back away from Harry, but he kept her close.

"Excuse us Margaret, we are kind of busy." He said proudly yet with a sly and smug look.

Margaret shook her head and sighed with much anger. She stormed off as Harry and Christine stayed in each other's arms smiling.

"I'm so sorry for everything I've done to hurt you Christine." He hugged her as tight as he could.

"I forgive you. Let's mark this as a new start."

"Sounds great to me."

"I love you Harry."

"I love you Christine."

And so marked a new start. But they were happier than ever before.

The End.


End file.
